Healing Shoe and Decorative Strap Therefor

ABSTRACT

A healing shoe includes a shoe sole, a shoe upper attached to the shoe sole, and at least one portion that folds over a wearer&#39;s foot. A strap is selectively attachable to the at least one portion and secures the shoe on the wearer&#39;s foot. At least one decorative attachment is secured to the strap.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/855,291, filed Oct. 30, 2006, the entire contentof which is herein incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

(NOT APPLICABLE)

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a decorative walking boot or healing shoe and,more particularly, to a decorative strap for such a shoe.

After suffering a foot injury or after surgery or other trauma, patientsare often required to use a walking boot or healing shoe that properlysupports the foot while enabling the affected area to heal. Examples ofsuch shoes are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,127, U.S.Pat. No. 5,483,757, and U.S. Pat. No. D534,712, the disclosures of whichare hereby incorporated by reference.

Typically, such shoes are unattractive or awkward. It would thus bedesirable to provide such a walking boot or healing shoe with adecorative feature to enhance the appearance of the shoe.

SUMMARY

A decorative walking boot or healing shoe is provided with one or moredecorative attachments applied to a shoe strap and/or other exteriorsurfaces of the shoe. The resulting shoe is attractive and colorful.

In an exemplary embodiment, a healing shoe includes a shoe sole, a shoeupper attached to the shoe sole and including at least one portion thatfolds over a wearer's foot, and at least one strap selectivelyattachable to the at least one portion to secure the shoe on thewearer's foot. At least one decorative attachment is secured to thestrap. In one arrangement, the shoe includes two portions that fold overthe wearer's foot, and the at least one strap is selectively attachableto the two portions to secure the shoe on the wearer's foot. Preferably,the at least one strap is completely removable. In this context, theshoe may include a plurality of interchangeable straps respectivelyincluding a different decorative attachment.

The decorative attachment may comprise one of more of fabric, paint,beads, costume jewelry and the like.

In another exemplary embodiment, a healing shoe includes a shoe sole, ashoe upper attached to the shoe sole and including at least one portionthat folds over a wearer's foot, and a plurality of interchangeablestraps selectively attachable to and detachable from the at least oneportion. At least one decorative attachment is secured to each of thestraps, the decorative attachment being different on each of the strapssuch that each strap comprises a unique appearance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the healing shoe including one or moredecorative attachments on the securing strap; and

FIG. 2 shows a plurality of exemplary decorative straps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a walking boot or healing shoe 10 includes ashoe sole 12 and a shoe upper 14. In a sandal style shoe as shown, theupper 14 is formed with a first overlap piece 16 that is folded over thewearer's foot, and preferably a second overlap piece 18 that is foldedover the first overlap piece 16. A strap 20 including a suitablefastener, such as a hook and loop fastener or the like, is fixed overthe first and second overlap pieces 16, 18 to selectively secure thesecond overlap piece 18 to the first overlap piece 16, and therebysecure the wearer's foot on the shoe sole. In a preferred construction,the strap 20 is completely removable from the shoe 10.

At least one decorative attachment 22 is provided on the strap 20. Thedecorative attachment 22 may be comprised of fabric, paint, beads,costume jewelry, and/or any other decorative item as well as anycombination thereof. The decorative attachment shown in FIG. 1 is merelyexemplary.

Since the strap 20 is preferably completely removable from the shoe 10,the shoe 10 may be provided with a plurality of straps 20 each includinga different decorative attachment 22 as shown in FIG. 2. Since thestraps 20 are interchangeable, the shoe 10 can be worn with multipledifferent looks.

The decorative attachment(s) 22 may additionally be placed on anyexterior surface of the sole 12 or upper 14. Of course, any arrangementof fabrics, jewels and colors may be used, and the invention is notmeant to be limited to the illustrated examples.

Although the strap 20 has been described in the context of its use withan exemplary healing shoe, the strap 20 may come in different shapes andsizes for use with any type of shoe, whether serving to secure the shoeon the wearer's foot or not. That is, existing shoes may be fitted withattachment structure, such as one part of a hook and loop fastener,cooperable with corresponding attachment structure, such as the otherpart of a hook and loop fastener so that the strap 20 and decorativeattachment 22 can be affixed to any type of shoe.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

1. A healing shoe comprising: a shoe sole; a shoe upper attached to theshoe sole and including at least one portion that folds over a wearer'sfoot; at least one strap selectively attachable to the at least oneportion to secure the shoe on the wearer's foot; and at least onedecorative attachment secured to the strap.
 2. A healing shoe accordingto claim 1, comprising two portions that fold over the wearer's foot,wherein the at least one strap is selectively attachable to the twoportions to secure the shoe on the wearer's foot.
 3. A healing shoeaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one strap is completelyremovable.
 4. A healing shoe according to claim 3, comprising aplurality of straps respectively including a different decorativeattachment, wherein the straps are interchangeable.
 5. A healing shoeaccording to claim 1, wherein the decorative attachment comprisesfabric.
 6. A healing shoe according to claim 1, wherein the decorativeattachment comprises paint.
 7. A healing shoe according to claim 1,wherein the decorative attachment comprises beads.
 8. A healing shoeaccording to claim 1, wherein the decorative attachment comprises atleast one of fabric, paint, beads or costume jewelry.
 9. A healing shoecomprising: a shoe sole; a shoe upper attached to the shoe sole andincluding at least one portion that folds over a wearer's foot; aplurality of interchangeable straps selectively attachable to anddetachable from the at least one portion; and at least one decorativeattachment secured to each of the straps, the decorative attachmentbeing different on each of the straps such that each strap comprises aunique appearance.
 10. A healing shoe according to claim 9, comprisingtwo portions that fold over the wearer's foot, wherein each of theplurality of straps is selectively attachable to the two portions tosecure the shoe on the wearer's foot.
 11. A strap attachable to a shoeincluding attachment structure, the strap comprising: a shape ofmaterial including at least one decorative attachment; and correspondingattachment structure affixed to the shape of material, the correspondingattachment structure being selectively attachable and detachable to theshoe attachment structure.